>> bret: oh, yes, thanks forever inviting us into your home tonight. that is it for this "special report," fair, balanced and only five more days and unafraid. >> shepard: this is "the fox report." tonight, the gas lines grow. the tensions rise. as post sandy hassles add up. plus the presidential campaign back in full swing. >> the obama folks are chanting four more years, four more years, but this is our chant. five more days. >> shepard: crunch time in the battle for the white house. >> as long as there is a single american who wants a job but can't find one, our work isn't done. >> shepard: president obama and governor romney now racing to make up for lost time after the devastating super storm. tonight, the candidates refocus on some of the most critical battleground states. plus, fuel shortages now

crippling parts of new york, new jersey, and connecticut. >> about an hour and 15 minutes. figure we will be here at least another hour. >> long line as folks wait to buy goods for cars and generators. millions of homes in more than a dozen states still without power. tonight, new speed bumps on the road to recovery. first from fox this thursday night the painful evenings of a lingering super storm. on top of all the death and destruction growing shortages on everything from gasoline to food to batteries for flashlights, there is no telling how long this will last. right now the biggest problem in the storm zone aside from the destruction seems to be the lack of fuel. and here is part of the reason. public transportation is sti a disaster, so folks need to drive. there is no electricity, so you have got to use a generator. loss of gas stations are empty or have no power. damaged distribution centers and refineries are off line. and ports are closed.

so the tankers can't deliver any new fuel. so, what you get, wow, look at this line. speeding it up now, northern new jersey outside of new york city. it just goes on and on and on. fortunately things should get better at some point. try telling that to somebody who runs out of gas while waiting in line to fill up. and here you have a picture of a guy in new jersey who had to siphon what little gas he had out of his car so he could fill his generator. keep in mind, sandy effects people across 17 states. along the coast, there is destruction on a scale that this region has never before witnessed. four and a half million homes are still without power as fox reports tonight. and now the latest estimate for the storm's economic damage? a staggering $50 billion. that would make sandy the second costliest storm trailing only virginia.

the federal government is feeding hundreds of thousands of victims who in many cases no longer have homes. >> fema worked with our national guard. i'm going to join them now in bringing 1 million meals to new york. >> shepard: a warm meal in a region where it is now november and temperatures are dropping fast. "the fox report's" correspondent the shortages are ridiculous. >> yi, -- yeah, shep, this on the far west side of midtown manhattan is one of the few gas stations that is still open anywhere in the city. you can see the tanker there, that is the third time it has been here today since we have been here for the last 8 hours or so to actually fill up. so people keep coming. and take a look ought his or her at the lines. people have been waiting in line, one and a half, two hours all day. new york's finest nypd here to keep order because as you can imagine in these situations where they are waiting block

after block after block of this avenue in new york, tempers do sometimes flair. but mayor bloomberg said today that relief is on the way. listen. some the gas stations aren't open because they don't have electricity. and the pumps need electricity to run. that hopefully in the next couple of days will be accommodated and once mass transit comes back, you have a lot fewer cars trying to buy gasoline. >> among these we saw filling up here today was some of the new york firefighters who are doing their very best to help the many people in downtown manhattan who still have no power and need all the help they can get, shep? >> shepard: new yorkers are used to brutal commutes but this is on another level it? >> it is extraordinary. we are hearing that the commute out tonight is not as bad as many people had feared

the lines over the george washington bridge we are hearing for instance not bad at all tonight. coming in this morning it, it was an entirely different story. lines across many of the bridges into manhattan very very long indeed then we heard tales of people waiting for hours for a bus brooklyn into manhattan. of course, with so many people not able to get gas out in new jersey or north of new york and west chester. more people are using public transport as the mayor said, that is putting a huge strain on the mass transit system. it's slowly getting back to normal. one thing i will say, shep, new yorkers for the moment at least are taking this in a very good spirit. many of them realizing that being without power in their apartment, having to stand in line for gas for a couple of hours is nothing to the loss of life that some families have suffered through over the last few days, shep. >> shepard: jonathan hunt in manhattan's west side. jonathan, thank you.

new reports of price gouging as there always are after a disaster of this magnitude. the cost of everything from gas to hotel rooms to rented generators said to be spiking in certain areas. in fact, there is a report that in economy car at baltimore's airport grumped 15 bucks to 230. that's illegal in the hardest hit state of new jersey where retailers are forbidden from increasing prices more than 10% after a disaster. they there already have been more than 100 complaints. today on "studio b" judge andrew nba talked about the penalties. >> they are very heavy with respect to fines. they are not fines imposed after a trial. these are fines imposed by an inspector on the spot governor christie is serious and dispatched a lot of inspectors to make sure this doesn't happen. >> shepard: potential fines could be in the tens of thousands of dollars. if you have seen or heard governor christie in the past few days you probably know he is not bluffing.

rescue workers found two more victims of the monster storm in new york city two brothers 2 and 4 years old. here are their parents after they got the news. police say the mother tried to hang on to those boys with her arms and hands when waves flooded their car on monday night. they slipped from her arms. and she has not seen them since. the storm left many places almost unrecognizable. a parking garage in lower manhattan before and after sandy. look at that a famous amusement park now sits half submerged. homes appear to have disappeared. not far from there another tiny town looks nothing like it did days ago. wind, rain, fire and storm surge left much of it in ruins. and the bridge to the narrow barrier island no longer connect. we'll have much more on the devastation throughout the region coming up live on fox report.

politics is back for sure. the new york city mayor michael bloomberg says he is endorsing president obama and the reason? his leadership on climate change. the mayor said today our climate is changing and while the increase in extreme weather we have experienced in new york city and around the world may or may not be the result of it, the risk that it might be given this week's devastation should compel all elected leaders to take immediate action. the president is back on the campaign trail visiting wisconsin, nevada and colorado. he says americans have inspired him with their response to the disaster. >> when disaster strikes cece america at its best. all the petty differences that consume us all seem to melt away. there are no democrats or republicans during a storm they are just fellow

americans. >> shepard: governor romney is praising the country for coming together and asking supporters to donate relief effort at all of his rallies. is he on the governor wants motorcade. right now on a way to a rally in virginia beach. the governor welcomed the president back to the campaign trail with some new criticism. >> he sure did, shep. motorcade has just pulled up so we are all now fighting our way across the parking lot to get the governor on stage for his event so we can cover it. mr. romney had not mentioned the president by name over the course of the last few days in the aftermath of hurricane sandy. it was a respite of the politics. but that all came to an abrupt end when the president returned to the trail today and mr. romney was very aggressively going after him for having suggested earlier this week something that he had proposed at the beginning of the year and was rejected by republicans. the idea of a consolidation of a host of government departments and agencies under one new cabinet secretary for business. mr. romney took that and laughed at it watch.

we don't need a second of business to understand business. we need a president who understands business and i do. that's how i will get this economy going. >> this is an idea that republicans should have rushed to embrace when it was proposed on january 13th. a proposal for smaller, smarter and more efficient government. i thought that's the sort of thing that republicans supported. >> well, it is certainly the notion that the republicans support because their nominee is a former businessman who says he can bring those skills into the white house. in addition, the campaign now getting increasingly tough. it's going to be a real sprint for mr. romney. he plans to visit at least 9 key battleground states between now and tuesday. and in the case of the usual suspects, ohio, florida, perhaps virginia, he will probably visit them more than once in the next four and a half days. and finally, the ground game, the get-out-the vote effort in the closing days will be increasingly intention. a recent pew research survey suggest that both campaigns are about equal in the overall

nationwide. mr. obama's campaign has been able to reach about 11% of the electorate and mr. romney about 10%. virtually identical. and when you look at the battleground states, it's mr. romney who has been able it reach voters about 14% of them and mr. obama just a little bit shy of that, 13. virtually identical. the polls are virtually tied in the battleground states and nationally and the get-out-the-vote race seems to be as well. shep? >> shepard: carl cameron on the campaign trail tonight. we are getting a brand new picture of our economy in several new reports just days before the election. some clarity and details next. and the former president of penn state university now faces new charges in the child rape scandal. from the journalists of fox news, this is a thursday fox report. [ male announcer ] wouldn't it be cool if you could combine

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>> shepard: there is a new report out that suggests fewer americans lost their jobs in recent days. the labor department reports first-time claim for

unemployment benefits were down by 9,000 last week. total number of new claims 363,000. analysts say that number indicates companies are hiring, which is great news. we should know more tomorrow when the government releases its final monthly jobs report, the last one before we decide. gerri willis of the fox business network is with us. gerri, ahead of that report, there was another one today that shows companies are adding to their payrolls. >> adding to private sector. 158,000 in the last month. critical number. biggest gain since february but offsetting that and there is an offset. >> shepard: kill joy. >> i know i'm a bad person. layoffs jump by more than 40%. challenger chris and gray that's a group who people follow here. i wish i had a clear view for you. i don't. we are keeping an eye on positive numbers. >> surprise. we thought it was going to be edged back because of sandy but it wasn't. a survey of 21 retails. everybody from cosco to macy's.

it's an important industry report now analysts have figuring people will pull back on spending because they spent on generators and chain chainsaws and bottled water. that's divha. i'm single-handedly. >> i few supreme about to restock refrigerator because you can't eat anything in there now. >> no, it's all green especially the things that aren't supposed to be green. >> shepard: gerri, good to see you. >> good to see you. >> shepard: seems more americans pulled the trigger on buying a new car last month. big three automakers increase in sales. foreign auto makers also improved u.s. auto numbers. biggest one toyota sales up 16%. analysts say there could be number jump in the future as folks along the east coast are suddenly going to need new vehicles to replace those ones full of water and sand. all those positive economic

reports plus some strong corporate earnings resulted in green arrows everywhere today. it looks great. all the major indices rose more than a%. do you up 136, nasdaq up 42. s&p up 15. prosecutors in pennsylvania charged the former president of the pennsylvania state university accusing him of trying to cover up the crimes of gerri sandusky that of cricket convicted child rapist. sandusky will likely spend the rest of his days in prison after a jury convicted him of sexually abusing 10 boys over 15 years. now the then school president graham spannier is accused of hushing up abuse complaints against the coach. is he charged with perjury, obstruction, endangering the welfare of children and conspiracy. prosecutors claim he knew he was lying to investigators. just within the past few minutes, security sources have given fox news information about what was behind, what was going on behind closed

doors when the u.s. consulate in benghazi libya came under attack. how the staff there thought someone was watching then and when a top terror task force was doing as our ambassador died. jennifer griffin has brand new information. new from her last hour with bret baier. she'll bring us the very latest as fox reports live tonight. [ male announcer ] you've reached the age where you don't back down from a challenge. this is the age of knowing how to make things happen. sowhy let erectile dysfunction get in your way? talk to your doctor about viagra. 20 million men already have. ask your doctor if your heart is healthy enough for sex. do not take viagra if you take nitrates for chest pain; it may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure. side effects include headache, flushing, upset stomach, and abnormal vision. to avoid long-term injury, seek immediate medical help for an erection lasting more than four hours. stop taking viagra and call your doctor right away if you experience a sudden decrease or loss in vision or hearing. this is the age of taking action.

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>> shepard: fox news has confirmed the white house did not call in top counter terrorism group during the attack on benghazi. jennifer griffin has the information live in washington with the new details. jennifer? >> good evening, shepard. the counter terrorism security group -- this is a group that typically meets when there is a suspected terror attack on any americans or american

interests. part of the national security presidential directive 46, which was begun during bush ear remarks also known as homeland security directive 15. fox has learned tonight from multiple counter terrorism officials as well as military sources that not only about the administration not call the counter terrorism security group that night into place to begin a response. they also did not deploy the foreign emergency support team. interagency group, rapid response unit that's designed from the cia state department and other agencies to go in and help facilitate after a terror attack. according to my sources, such senior level decisions included ruling out the immediate deployment of certainty antiterrorism personnel from multiple agencies that the attack was ongoing. the official that i spoke to said that they are very concerned in those initial hours and in the days

afterwards was very compartmentalized was the response process was isolated. administration. and there is a great deal of from frustration in the counter terrorism community that some of those counter terror assets weren't used in the initial hours and days, shepard. >> shepard: jennifer, also new reports that the attackers in libya may have had inside help from libyan security forces. catherine herridge with this part of the story live live in r washington newsroom. >> thank you, shepard, new documents recovered from the benghazi compound by foreign policy magazine show in the early morning hours of september 11th, they believed they were under surveillance. this person was photographing the u.s. special mission. furthermore this person was part of the police unit sent to protect the mission. this information is consistent with an online post from sean smith, an avid gamer shortly before the consulate was overrun by terrorists and smith was killed. he said assuming we don't die tonight, we saw one of our police that guard the compound taking pictures.

the classified cable reviewed by fox news shows that the situation on the ground was so dire that in the long term the consulate a would take the extreme step of moving in with the cia at the annex which also came under attack on 9/11. literally their back up was against the wall. they had no options left. telling voters on air force one there is a robust investigation. that is the same talking point we had from the state department on the question surrounding that classified cable, shep. >> shepard: catherine herridge in washington. thanks. >> you are welcome. >> shepard: michael bloomberg says the show must go on and this sunday's new york city marathon will go on as planned with so much devastation in the big apple not everybody is in agreement. plus, the state of new jersey looking at ways to make election day a little bit easier amid all the destruction there it may involve using military trucks as polling places.

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[ female announcer ] some people like to pretend a flood could never happen to them. and that their homeowners insurance protects them. [ thunder crashes ] it doesn't. stop pretending. only flood insurance covers floods. ♪ visit floodsmart.gov/pretend to learn your risk. >> shepard: doctors have released that man who came down with the rare form of men gits that killed his wife. the man says is he much-improved but still making medication. both he and his wife were patients at a clinic that administered steroids from that massachusetts-based pharmacy. of course, investigators say that pharmacy supplied tainted

shots. today u.s. health officials said they found bacteria in skin cream and a heart drug that the same company produced. but so far no confirmation of infection linked to those products. the centers for disease control and prevention reports 9 more meningitis cases today bringing the total to 386 in the states you see in yellow on the screen. the outbreak has reportedly killed 28 people. i'm shepard smith. this is the fox report. bottom of the hour. time for the top of the news. governor romney is gaining ground in a couple of battleground states. the parent company of fox news owns the journal. in wisconsin the survey shows governor romney has cut president obama's lead in half in the past two weeks. it's down to 3 points, which is a statistical tie. in new hampshire, the president is up by 2. that's a 5 point gain for governor romney since last

month. the president has a 6 point lead in iowa, down 2 points in the last month. governor romney is focusing on another swing state, virginia. and he is asking supporters there to do their part to help victims of the super storm sandy, which hit virginia and a lot more states a lot of homes have been lost and property lost and our hearts go out to the people who were suffering. please make sure if you have an extra dollar or more than that to send it along to the red cross or salvation army or some other relief effort to make sure we show the world and show our neighbors how much we care. >> shepard: president obama is back on the campaign trail tonight after taking a break to focus on the government's response to the storm. ed henry is in las vegas tonight. the president's second stomp the day. ed, he was first in wisconsin where we just got that poll that shows well, things are narrowing. >> it certainly is. the president is spending a lot of time in wisconsin. three events over this final

weekend, basically heading into election day it gives you a sign a state they wanted to lock up suddenly very close. final argument what the president is trying to do is two things. one, talk about a positive vision what he would do in a second term. but, also, hit mitt romney hard. take a listen. >> governor romney has been using all his talents as a sales men to dress up the very same policies that failed our country so badly. he is saying he is the candidate of change. let me tell you, nevada, we know what change looks like. [cheers] what the governor is offering sure ain't change. >> after doing all that storm work the president's first event in wisconsin wearing bomber jacket from air force one said commander and chief barack obama. not so subtle message since today he got the endorsement of new york mayor bloomberg who is dealing with this storm. the president's statement noting that he is stepping up. showing leadership. that's another thing they are going to stress in this final

case is leadership. shep. >> shepard: we're learning now where he plans to spend the final few days of the campaign that's right we mentioned wisconsin three times. playing defense there. ohio, six times in the final six days. that's a state the democrats look like they are up in the polls. why is the president spending so much time there it's a american fire wall for him if he can lock down ohio, wisconsin, as well as iowa. republic case on that is, look, he is playing defense in states he should have locked up oa while ago, the democratic response to all of that is why is mitt romney in virginia and florida states that the republicans thought they already had. >> shepard: ed life in las vegas. thanks very much. the new jersey officials say they will make special accommodation to make sure folks in the state can still cast their ballots. it's unclear how many of new jersey's 3,000 polling stations even have electricity or for that matter are still standing will state will extend the mail in county

ballots county clerks office in all weekend. deploy military truck once tuesday and some of those truck also be used as mobile polling places. folks along the jersey shore getting a sense of how much damage the storm caused. images like these, homes toppled off foundations, people waiting in very long lines for gas to fuel their cars or their generators. one of the hardest hit areas was in atlantic city where the power is still off. health officials worn the water still is not safe to drink one man who tried to ride out the storm there says next time he will evacuate. oh yeah in a heart beat because it was basically i seen death. >> he has seen death. and was scared of dying himself, he says. as he shot this video while walking out of his flooded home. he says the current was strong. that he couldn't see what was in that water.

or if there was electrical current from downed power lines. businesses closed providing business and government of much needed gambling revenue. governor says few things have to happen before he allows tourists back. >> in we need to get over the power hurdle. we need to get over the drink of a water hurdle. i cannot in good conscious allow people to go to atlantic city and casinos without good water. >> for many, things are black and bleak and may be for a while. craig boswell in atlantic city tonight. craig? >> shep, good evening. since we last spoke this afternoon. the roads into atlantic city have finally been reopen. where we are, has also been open. you probably see some cars coming up behind us. people getting into their homes for the first time since this storm had hit. today there was a line of cars

about a mile along at one of those checkpoints trying to get outside the windows, oh my, oh no, talking about things. utility crew finally arrived here getting the power here back to you, shep. >> shepard: thanks. getting a closer look at some of sandy's damage out of east end of new york's long island. many of the beaches and coastal communities there did take a pounding from the high winds and storm surge. especially hundreds of homes that sit off the south shore of long island on a very thin string of barrier islands. many of those along dune road which is asphalt. although you can see here a sea of sand has buried the dune. buried dune road sneer south hampton out on the east end of long island. not all the way out but it's close. sandy's heavy waves packed enough power to shove tons of that heavy sand around and flip a seafood delivery truck on its side there. the nation's largest city

slowly beginning to stir back to life bit by bit after what was l. likely go down as the most devastating disaster in big apple history. subways are up and running but not all. buses are back but many tunnels are still filled with salt water which mass made for some pretty tough commutes. earlier today the national guard showed up to help with logistics, food, water, most people are still acting civilized. reports of doctors offering free care. restaurants giving out free sandwiches and coffee. the power is out still all over lower manhattan. look at this picture. the 59th street bridge which goes across the hudson. in the background there way down at the tip of the island you can see the new world trade center tower and in between darkness. i went down into my mashed. dark eerie and spooky i might add. mayor bloomberg said the power

company is working as quickly as it can. >> the task of restoring power is going to take a lot of time but the good news is they are working aggressively. in fact con ed informs me that they are making very good progress better than anticipated. >> most of the city will be back in line and back having power by saturday. but con ed says some people won't have juice until at least next weekend. 10 days from now. david lee miller is down in lower manhattan for us tonight. david lee, lots of delays. indeed, shepard. folks who get their power from overheadlines are simply going to have to wait. there are some 100,000 downed wires. and they say those crews are going to have to fight not just downed trees and blocked roads but the flooding as well. but as for lower manhattan, where the lines are buried underground, they do expect just a few more days this weekend, the juice will be

back on. but tonight, once again, darkness in lower manhattan. shepard? >> shepard: david lee miller down along the tunnel for us. david lee, thanks a lot. the mayor of new york is defending his decision not to cancel the new york city marathon on sunday. electricity should downtown manhattan. they are telling us your power is back by saturday night at 11:00. marathon day they are good. there was a little damage along the marathon route which cuts through all five burrows of new york city. the president of the burrows of staten island reportedly said it's asinine to hold what he describes as a parade at a time like this. with the storm knocking out power and displacing so many people, getting hotel rooms in the new york city, new jersey area is nearly impossible. get this. the pittsburgh steelers apparently stuck ahead of sunday's game against the new york football giants, still no power at the hotel. the steelers had originally booked. the pittsburgh post gazette newspaper reports the team

will travel to and from new jersey on the day of the game which is set for just after 4:00 eastern daylight time. then that night we familiar back. don't forget. saturday night. just across the river from downtown manhattan, hoboken new jersey, it's finally starting to dry out. but the mayor says as much as 5% of the city is still without power. tens of thousands of people rode out the storm there and woke up to scenes like this. the national guard came to the rescue with much needed supplies and today, finally, the floodwaters have been pumped out. but it could be a long road back to normal. molly line in downtown hoboken, new jersey. molly line is there and that's a city that's below sea level and another night in the dark for them. absolutely, there was a bright spot came out of the press conference. lights could come on earlier than anticipated they first said 7 to 10 days now they are hoping 4 to 5 days for restoration of power there are

also concern about the shelters in the community that were addressed today. they said they will be staying open, that they have electricity at two of the shelters. the third runs on generator power. they think that's going to be fine as well. we got a chance to go down in these neighborhoods and, let me tell you, the surge, that storm surge did an absolutely devastating job to low lying businesses, restaurants, bars, the places that hoboken is so much known for. it's going to be a big hit to the business community. we also had a chance to speak with folks that live in the neighborhood it. it was a pretty emotional experience for them. >> this is the first time we have been able to walk through the streets. and it is just -- this is my home. this is is my home and i see things like and this i walk by people's houses and they are filled with mud and diesel and everything else imaginable. this is our home. >> a long road to clean up still ahead. but the community is pulling

together. shep? >> shepard: molly line hoboken, new jersey. molly, thanks. the u.s. plans to leave afghanistan by 2014. it's something both presidential candidates now say they support. but tonight, there is yet more evidence that afghanistan may not be ready for that. what a shocker, right? the new details coming up. it takes some doing. some coordinating. and a trip to the one place with the new ideas that help us pull it all together. from the things that hang and shine... ...to the things that sparkle and jingle. all while saving the things that go in our wallet. more saving. more doing. that's the power of the home depot. trade in any light string and get up to five bucks off the latest holiday leds.

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maybe you can find better coverage, save money, or both. and check out the preventive benefits you get after the health care law. ♪ medicare open enrollment. now's the time. visit medicare.gov or call 1-800-medicare. ♪ >> new report raising doubts whether the afghan government will be ready for withdraw of troops in 2014. the afghan government will likely be incapable of sustaining national facilities after the transition in 2014. and the expected decrease in u.s. and coalition support. molly henneberg has read the report and is live from our d.c. newsroom with more on this not surprising development. molly? are you there? >> shep, one glaring problem according to the report is that many afghan soldiers and contractors are illiterate and

can't read manuals and blueprints for fittings. the inspector general writes looming problems include quote lack of sufficient numbers and quality of personnel as well as undeveloped budgeting, procurement beings and lo guess particular -- logistic funding. afghan national security forces facilities, particularly police facilities are at risk of being wasted. we're talking about at least 11.7 billion u.s. taxpayer dollars there to build military police and other facilities. the pentagon says it will make, quote: all necessary adjustments to help the afghan government sustain the facilities after coalition troops leave. but a spokesman also says, quote: the u.s. and its partners have made commitments to continue our support for anff well after 2014. also of note in afghanistan tonight, could someone from the taliban succeed afghan president harmid karzai who is constitutionally barred from running for a third term in

2014. it is possible according to the head of that nation's independent election commission seen here at a press conference. he told reporters that if someone from the taliban wants to participate in that election, as a candidate or a voter, quote: there will be no discrimination against them. shep? >> shepard: molly henneberg live in washington, d.c. a huge explosion has killed at least 22 people after a fuel tanker crashes into a highway overpass. and that tops our news around the world in 80 seconds. saudi arabia. capital city of riyadh. pile of rubble and reportedly crushed vehicles on that overpass and on a nearby bridge. state television reported more than 100 people hurt. officials say they are investigating the crash. china. when a fire broke out at a chemical factory in the southwest, firefighters rushed to get more than 50 oxygen tanks out of the building

before they exploded. they got all the tanks out in time and spent more than two hours fighting the flames. nobody hurt. japan. a guy ran his truck into a pipe that was connected to a fire sprinkler and sent a stream of fire retardant foam on to a major road in tokyo. the spill slowed traffic as firefighters weighed through the bubbles and poured water on the foam. they got it cleaned up a few hours later. police say that truck driver is okay. india. one of the country's biggest soccer stars jumped off a cliff in the northeastern state to kick off the area's first paragliding festival. he says he thinks the sport could be big in the region. and the government hopes it will attract tourists. and that's a wrap on this fox trip around the world in 80 seconds.

the owners of a retail store chain are fighting to block the birth control mandate in the new healthcare law. they say it violates their religious believes. details coming up. based on this chart ? don't rush into it, i'm not looking for the fastest answer. obviously verizon. okay, i have a different chart. going that way, does that make a difference ? look at verizon. it's so much more than the other ones. so what if we just changed the format altogether ? isn't that the exact same thing ? it's pretty clear. still sticking with verizon. verizon. more 4g lte coverage than all other networks combined. [ mom ] we already have a tv. would you like to know more abo it? yeah, but let me put my wife on speaker. hi! hi. it's led and it has great picture quality. i don't know... it's ultralim... maybe next year. you cod always put it on layaway and pay a little at a time. alright. we'll take it!

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>> shepard: a lot of you are sending in powerful pictures of the devastation of the great storm of 2012. a look at the coastal city of bell march in new jersey where floodwaters and high school days after sandy slammed the area. here you can see that water pouring into the lower level of the school building. look at that hallways filled with water and debris door handles. this high school remains closed along with many other schools across the state. keeping thousands upon

thousands of students out of class until at least next week there is a new legal challenge to part of the healthcare overhaul. it's the part that requires companies to cover birth control for their workers. the challenge from a christian-owned chain of retail stores. today, a federal judge heard arguments from lawyers on both sides. shannon bream is in d.c. shannon? >> well, shep, as you know, there are dozens of lawsuits across the country, brought by employers who say being forced to comply with the contraception mandate issued by the department of health and human services will violate their rebleg just beliefs. today the hobby lobby arts and craft stores chain asked the federal judge for injunction against the mandate. the owners say it could force them to provide insurance that covers what they call, quote: abortion causing drugs and devices. ever since h.h.s. under the direction of secretary cath lean sebelius issued guidance stemming from the president's healthcare law, many employers have been fighting against the contraception mandate. two have won injunctions including one in colorado and

another in michigan just this week there was also a key development in the fight against the healthcare law at the supreme court level this week. liberty university, which brought one of the original cases against the law is fighting to continue a challenge that was blocked by a federal appeals court based on different grounds and issues than the supreme court addressed in its historic decision back in june. after the university petitioned the high court for chance to have the case reopened. the court asked the justice department to weigh in on that request. and it has. in a turn many found surprising dodge agreed with liberty not the merits it does not oppose the school's request for a re-hearing. so now we await the justices decision to see whether a new old challenge to the healthcare law is back on the fast track to the supreme court. shep? >> shannon bream in washington. reports of not one but two different swimmers getting face to face with sharks in the pacific. but they saved themselves using the very same move

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>> shepard: the oldest town in europe is 6,000 years old. some archaeologists say they have dug the place up in northeastern bull delaware i can't. team members unearthed graves they say must have belonged to people of high social status because of copper hairpins they found near the skeltons. the head archaeologist says it was a wealthy town because of its salt reserves which were about as valuable back then as oil is today. two swimmers say they survived shark attacks by punching predators in the nose. a tiger shark attacked the scuba diver in hawaii last weekend. her husband says she -- her husband says he watched his wife use her martial arts skills to strike that shark twice in the face. the second attack tuesday near arica california. a great white bit a surfer and

pulled him under the water then let go when that surfer slugged the shark in both instances the sharks swam away and experts say they always will. sensory organs in the nose sets off triggers in the shark to tell it to go away. >> shepard: his vital organs are okay. scuba diver swam away with bruises. >> update to fox top story tonight. president obama is wrapping up a marathon day of campaigning with events in three battleground states while governor mitt romney crisscrossed virginia today. officials in the state of new jersey say they will deploy military trucks to serve as polling places in some areas recovering from this week's devastating storm. also extending the deadline for folks to mail in their ballot. at the same time, lines for gasoline stretched for miles today. the owner of one gas station in brooklyn new york said you are better off using your bicycle. two of the reasons, many

stations can't pump gas because they don't have power and fuel trucks are having a hard time getting around. and on this day in 1870, federal meteorologists made their first weather observations. the invention of the tell graph allowed scientist for the first time to collect current data first alert forecast trends what might happen next. it led the president ulysses s. grant to sign a law directing the military to track the weather and give notice of approaching storms. the result was the creation of the u.s. weather bureau. it later became a civilian agency known as the national weather service. and it tracks the weather today issuing first alert forecasts watches and warnings. the government first got into the weather biz 142 years ago today. and you are usually about 50/50, right? i don't know. 50/50 is pretty good. and now you know the news for

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